New high-speed rail links hot tourist attractions in Yunnan

Passengers ride on the maiden trip of the Kunming-Lijiang high-speed railway on Saturday. [Photo by Meng Zhigang/chinadaily.com.cn]

A new high-speed railway linking some of the famous tourist attractions in Southwest China's Yunnan province made its first run on Saturday.

The bullet train left Kunming, the provincial capital, at 8:15 am, and arrived at Lijiang, a popular tourist city, three hours later.

It is the first time that Lijiang, a city well-known for its World Heritage old town, beautiful natural scenery and ethnic culture, is integrated into the nation's high-speed rail network.

Previously, the trip between Kunming and Lijiang took more than eight hours. Three pairs of the bullet train provide service between the two cities every day.

The new route, which has 10 stations, also connects to other hot tourist destinations in the province, such as the ancient town in Dali and the Three Parallel River area.